Road torch



H. .l. SAUER July 5, 1938.

ROAD TORCH Filed Dec. 19, 193

/ Z2 INVENTOR HENRYI]. 511111512 ATTORNEY Patented July 5, 1938 BAT-EMT oFFIcE aizaczg ROAD TORCH Henry J. Sauer, Fairfield Conn, assignor to The KiIborn Sauer' 'Qonjpanyffa irfield," Conn a corporation of Connecticut L Application December 19, 1935, Serial No. 55,137 2 Qlaims. (Cl. 67- 55) The present invention relates to improvements in road torches, particularly of the type adapted to be carried upon vehicles such as trucks for the purpose of emergency illumination, such 5 torches usually being placed upon the ground when thefltruck is stopped at the side of the road for repairs so'as' to warn other vehicles. Such torches are also adapted to use in marking road constructions, excavations and the like. Because of the fact that these torches must be used in the open in all kinds of weather, it is essential that the flame be protected against extinguishment by wind, rain and falling'snow. While various attempts have been made to producetorche's of this character they have failed when subjected to extreme conditions, such as very heavyrainfall'ior a considerable period accompanied by wind, where the direction of the rain was not straight down, that is, where the rain hit the torch at an angle as great as 45, and under certain conditions'aswhenaccompanied by a heavy gale would hit "the "torch in'an approximately horizontal direction.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a torch in which'the flame will-be completely protected against 'e'xting'uishmentunder these severe conditions, and to'this end it is proposed to provide rain'a'nd wind baiile means providing a complete barrier about the wick in avertical direction, a horizontal direction, and in any angular direction betweenvertical and horizontal, and irrespective of which side of the torch is exposed. A further object is to provide a road torch in which the sides of the guard provided about the wick have no opening exposed in a lateral direction, but in which means are provided whereby the flame may emerge from the sides to provide a large spreading bright flame I A further object is to provide for the vertical exit of flame through the top of the guard so as to increase the illuminatingefiect, to provide a flame which extends to a greater height than is the case where there is no vertical exit of flame, and to provide such a flame in contact with the top portion of the guard for the purpose of preventing excessive accumulation of carbon, the flame consuming such carbon as might otherwise be collected, thereby resulting in a burner of high efliciency, of extreme visibility of the flame, and which will not be impaired by excessive carbon accumulation as has been the case with pr viou rues o oad tor hes. It is pr posed tpprovide a vertical exit .fiame means in the top ofthe g ard which at the same time will.

be completely protected against the entrance of rain and high wind into'the interior of the burner and irrespective of the angle at which such rain or wind strikes. i

A further object isto provide wick holding means providing an enclosed air-space about theupper' end of the wick which will be heated by the burner for the purpose of heating the keros'ene or'other liquid fuel prior to burning, and it is particularly proposed to provide such structrue which will not cause the sides of the upper end portion of the wick to become scorched, or burned; as has been the case heretofore in those burners where the wick was supported by a tube in contact with the wick and which became heated to a high degree by the flame.

' A further object is to provide improved means for securing the torch when not in use upon the truck, or other'structure for which the torch is intended. Another object is to provide a torch of sturdy construction so as to withstand the rough usage to which the torch may be subjected.

With the above and other objects in view, embodiments of'the invention are shown in the accompanying drawing, and these embodiments will be hereinafter more fully described with reference thereto, and the invention Will be final- 1y pointedout in the claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a torch, according to my invention, showing the supporting means for securing the torch upon the truck or the like, the burner being closed by a protective cap.

Fig. 2 is" a plan view thereof.

Fig". 3'is'a' side elevation of a burner according to my invention and the contiguous upper end of the fuelr'eceptacle, the latter being shown in" vertical section.

Fig. lis a similar side elevation turned from the side elevation as shown in Fig. 3.

Fig.5 is atop plan View.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section-a1 view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

'Fig. '7 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line T-l of Fig. 4.

' Fig.8 is a plan view of the blank from which the vertical exit flame device is constructed.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary vertical sectional'view Of a modified form of construction in which the guard portion of the burner is detach-ably secured .to the wick supporting portion.

Fig. 1.0 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view thereof, taken along the line lll-l0 of Fig. 9.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawing.

Referring to the drawing, the torch according to my invention comprises a fuel receptacle adapted to contain kerosene or other suitable liquid fuel and consisting of a cup shaped base portion l and a top portion H secured to the upper edge of the base portion, this top portion being preferably dome shaped and provided centrally with a circular opening l2 in which is engaged and secured a burner attaching member l3, this member being secured by a shouldered flange l4 engaged within the opening l2 and curled over upon the underside. The side wall of the member l3 has screw threads I5 pressed therein for the purpose of securing thereon a protective cap H5 having screw threads at its lower portion Mi as shown in Fig. 1, this cap adapted to enclose the burner portion of the torch when the same is not in use. The top of the member 13 is flat and is provided with a circular opening having inwardly bent segmental cam flanges ill and I8 bent downwardly from its edge, the ends of these flanges being spaced apart by cut-outs l9 and 20. The cam flanges l1 and I8 are of increasing height from one end to the other, the low end of one flange being adjacent the high end of the other, and areadapted to removably secure the burner element to the fuel receptacle, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

The burner comprises a wick holding element consisting of a lower shell member having a reduced diameter lower end portion 2| provided in its base with a central wick receiving opening having an upwardly bent flange 22, and an upper portion 23 of greater diameter than the lower portion 2!, a laterally disposed shoulder 24 connecting the portions 2| and 23, and the upper end of the portion 23 being outwardly offset, as at 25. A truncated cone shaped cap member 26 is secured upon the upper end of the shell member, being provided at its lower edge with a downwardly extending cylindrical flange 21 secured about the outwardly offset portion 25 of the shell member by curling over the lower edge of the flange portion 27, as at 28. At the upper side of the cap member there is provided an upwardly projecting cylindrical tubular portion 29 through which the upper end of the wick 30 extends. It will be noted that the diameter of the tubular portion 29 is greater than the diameter of the flange 22 so that the wick which is frictionally engaged and supported by the flange 22 is spaced at its upper end portion from the tubular portion 29, for a purpose hereinafter more fully described. At diametrically opposed points the lower portion 2| of the shell member is provided with outwardly pressed bosses 3| and 3|, which are adapted to cooperate with the cam flanges IT and [8 to retain the burner in place, these bosses being first engaged through the cutouts l9 and 23 and the shell member then being rotated to bring the bosses into Wedging engagement with the lower inclined edges of the flanges IT and I8. A sealing washer 32 of asbestos or other suitable material is preferably interposed between the shoulder 24 and the top of the member l3.

The burner further comprises a flame guard, which is mounted upon the tubular portion 29, and comprises an inverted cup-shaped member 33, the side wall of which is provided between its upper and lower ends with a plurality of shearing cuts 34 of equal length and having their ends spaced ashort distance apart, the side wall of the guard below these shearing cuts being pressed inwardly to provide three V-shaped inwardly extending walls 35, the apices of these walls being secured adjacent their lower extremities to the outer surface of the tubular portion 29, preferably spot welding, although they may be riveted or otherwise suitably secured thereto. This structure provides a guard in surrounding relation to the flame which is entirely free of any opening exposed in a horizontal direction, but which at the same time provides openings for the exit of flame and openings for the entrance of air, the flame exit openings 36 being formed by the inwardly pressed upper edges of the V- shaped wall portions 35 and the circumferential lower edge of the upper portion of the guard formed by the shearing cuts 34. These flame exit openings are disposed in a lateral plane and the flame emerges through them by taking a substantially S-shape course. The air entrance openings 36 are formed by the lower edges of the guard and the outer surface of the tubular portion 29, these air openings being also dispose-d in a lateral plane and in alternate arrangement with the flame exit openings 36, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. By this arrangement the interior of the burner is completely closed in a lateral direction, so that the force of wind upon the burner is baffled and at no point directly reaches the wick. Even under the most severe wind conditions the burner will continue to burn without danger of the flame being blown out. The construction also completely protects the flame within the burner against rain and snow, and this irrespective of whether the fall of the rain or snow is straight down or at a large angle. Even when accompanied by severe gale conditions where the rain might be blown in a horizontal direction the structure will prevent entrance of rain to the wick.

While it is necessary to have the top of the burner closed against rainfall, it is also desirable to prevent the trapping of gases in the upper portion of the guard and the excessive accumulation of carbon. Also it is desirable to supplement the flame emerging from the sides of the guard by a vertically emerging flame so that the combined flames will be relatively higher and therefore more visible at a distance. For this purpose I provide a slot 31 in the upper portion of the guard and over this slot I provide a wind and rain protector to prevent the entrance of wind and rain into the burner through the slot 31. This protector comprises an inclined flange 38 disposed along one edge of the slot 31 and having a base portion 39, a shorter inclined flange 49 extending along the opposed edge of the slot 31 and provided with a base portion 4! end walls 42 and 43, an inclined top portion 44 arranged in parallel relation to the flange 38, and an inclined top portion 45 arranged in parallel relation to the flange 40. The flanges 38 and 49 are preferably at an angle of 90 to each other, the end of the flange 40 being spaced from the flange 38 and the end of the flange 38 being in the plane of the outer surface of the flange 40. The top portions 44 and 45 are similarly arranged but offset to one side so that the top portion 45 is disposed in a vertical direction above the opening between the flanges 38 and 40. In operation the flame extends Vertically through the opening between the flanges 38 and 40, then at a slight inclination beneath the top portion 45, and emerges in a vertical direction through the opening between the'top portions 44 and 45 as clearly indicated by the arrow. Despite the vertical emergence of the flame the slot 31 is completely protected against the entrance of rain either in the vertical direction, a horizontal direction, or at any angle between vertical and horizontal. Also wind directed against the burner in any direction or angle will be deflected from direct entrance into the slot 31. The flame extending through the top of the burner prevents the excessive accumulation of carbon as its heat will consume such carbon as would otherwise be collected if there was no provision for vertical emergence of flame.

The wick supporting part of the burner formed. by the shell member 23 and the truncated cone shaped member 26 provides an air chamber about the end portion of the wick which becomes heated sufllciently to maintain the fluid drawn up by the wick at the proper flash point. By spacing the tubular portion 29 from the upper end of the wick the wick is prevented ,from becoming scorched or burned, as is the case with torches in which a tubular wick holder is tightly engaged about the end portion, of the wick and becomes heated to a high degree from contact with the flame.

In Fig. 8, I have shown in plan view a blank from which the protector device for the slot 31 may be formed from one piece of sheet metal, the top portion 44 having a notch 46 at its end which interlocks with a lug 41 on the end wall portion 43, the base portion 39 having a lug 48 at its end which is adapted to lock with a notch 49 in the end wall portion 43, and the base portion 4| having a lug 50 at its end which lockingly engages with a notch 5| provided in the end wall portion 42. The protector device may be secured to the top of the guard by spot-welding the base portions 39 and 4| thereto, or the same may be secured by any other suitable means, as will be obvious.

In Figs. 9 and 10, I have illustrated a modified form of the invention in which the flame guard is removably mounted upon the tubular portion 29. For this purpose the apices of the inwardly bent V-shaped wall portions 35 are provided with inwardly pressed lugs or bosses 52 and the tubular portion 29 is provided with a series of bayonet slots 53, the locking portions of which are slightly inclined downwardly, as clearly shown in Fig. 9. By engaging the lugs 52 in these bayonet slots and turning the guard the inclined locking portions of the slots act as cams to tightly wedge the lower edge of the guard against the upper side of the member 26, thus securely connecting the guard to the wick supporting portion of the burner. The removability of the guard facilitates cleaning or trimming of the upper end of the wick, cleaning of the guard,

lighting of the torch, and also enables the torch to be used without the guard when desired.

For the purpose of securely mounting the torch upon the vehicle I provide a band formed of a pair of semi-circular metal strips 5454 having attaching bracket portions 55-55 at their inner ends riveted together as at 56, and provided at their outer ends with ears 51-51 adapted to be secured together by a nut and bolt 58 to clamp the band about the receptacle Ill. A rib 59 is formed upon the receptacle and engages the upper edge of the band.

I have illustrated and described a preferred and satisfactory embodiment of the invention, but it will be obvious that changes may be made therein, within the spirit and scope thereof, as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:--

1. In a torch burner, a wick holder, a flame guard carried by said wick holder having a side wall and a top wall, said side wall having at its lower portion a plurality of circumferentially spaced inwardly pressed portions extending to the lower edge of the guard, the upper edges of said inwardly pressed portions being severed from said side wall forming a plurality of flame emergence openings having radially spaced outer and inner edges, the spaced radially inward portions of said side wall adjacent said lower edge being directly engaged with said wick holder and there being openings between the spaced radially outward portions of said side wall adjacent said lower edge and the wick holder for the entrance of air.

2. In a torch burner, a wick holder including a central tubular portion and an annular top portion outwardly of said tubular portion, a flame guard carried by said wick holder having a side wall and a top wall, said side wall having at its lower portion a plurality of circumferentially spaced inwardly pressed portions extending to the lower edge of the guard, the upper edges of said inwardly pressed portions being severed from said side wall forming a plurality of flame emergence openings having radially spaced outer and inner edges, the spaced radially inward portions of said side wall adjacent said lower edge being directly engaged with said central tubular portion of said wick holder and there being openings between the spaced radially outward portions of said side wall adjacent said lower edge and the wick holder for the entrance of air, the upper surface of said annular top portion of said wick holder being directly below said lower edge of the guard and being inclined downwardly and outwardly.

HENRY J. SAUER. 

